This story is written by Mildred Nguyen as part of LINK nky’s partnership with Northern Kentucky University
The Ion Center for Violence Prevention organized a variety of activities in honor of April, which was both Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention and Volunteer Appreciation Month. Through big fundraisers, virtual support groups and collaborative social media campaigns, the center brought attention to the issue of violence in local communities and reached out to survivors.
Founded in 1976, the Ion Center provides services to survivors of power-based personal violence, such as partner and sexual violence, in Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati and Buffalo Trace areas. The center offers counseling, hospital, court and law enforcement advocacy, safety planning, emergency shelter and prevention education.
The twelfth annual Dining To Make A Difference, held April 8 in Maysville, Mason County, was the month’s biggest event. According to Communications Coordinator Jamie Sivrais, this year raised $35,000, the most money in the history of the event.
“That community [Maysville]’s extremely supportive of the work we do, and that’s kind of built and taken on a life of its own,” Sivrais said. “Every year we do that event and it’s one of our bigger fundraisers down there, so it’s one we’ll always come back to.”
Another of the month’s major events was the Manifestation Mixer in Braxton, co-hosted by the mental health advocacy organization Black Women Cultivating Change. The mixer featured speakers who shared stories and testimonies of sexual violence, as well as vendors offering resources.
“All people are welcome, but it’s intentionally centered on the voices and experiences of Black women, so we were really happy to be a part of that and be there, let folks know about our services and that we’re available,” Sivrais said.
In addition to the major fundraisers, Ion Center arranged smaller events according to a new theme each week. April 18 to 22, for example, was Chalk the Walk & Rock Kindness Week, when locals were encouraged to leave positive messages on sidewalks and rocks in front of their homes, their businesses and around town.
“It can be uplifting, it can be positive messages directed to survivors, saying, ‘We believe you,’ ‘Sexual Assault Awareness Month,’ or sometimes people like to paint rocks with those kinds of messages and leave them around town,” Sivrais said, adding that Chalk the Walk and Rock Kindness are not necessarily the center’s events, but something that a lot of different agencies would participate in.
Sivrais said that Ion Center’s goal is always to reach people who have been impacted by power-based personal violence. Part of these efforts is carried out by different tiers of volunteers, who may make buttons for school students, create murals at shelters, help out at tabling events, post pamphlets and flyers in local spaces or accompany survivors to hospitals.
According to Volunteer Coordinator Payton Moore, hospital advocates are not there to provide medical or legal help. Rather, they accompany survivors to help them get past the next hour, ensuring that they receive nurturing care, food, water, blankets, shelter, contact with family and friends.
“Sometimes people want you to be there throughout the entire forensic exam after a sexual assault,” Moore said. “So you may be holding their hands, giving them physical contact, letting them know that you’re there with them.”
Moore said that while April is very important for bringing awareness to sexual assault, it is equally vital to make sure that volunteers, some of whom are themselves survivors, feel appreciated during these stressful times. COVID-19 is the greatest challenge that the center faces because going into hospital in the midst of a pandemic can bring a lot of stress, so Moore emphasized self-care for volunteers and staff.
April may be Volunteer Appreciation and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but according to Sivrais the month itself is no different from other months in terms of impact.
“What we hear a lot is people who say, ‘I don’t know if I qualify for help,’ or ‘I didn’t feel like my situation was that bad,’ or ‘I didn’t recognize that I was experiencing abuse,’” Sivrais said. “The benefit with April is that there are many different places that are also talking about sexual violence, and so it kind of amplifies the conversation a little bit.”